Convert Knitting from Flat to Round

I love knitting in the round. It saves time and there are no purl stitches unless you want something to stand out on purpose. Best of all, if you hate sewing pieces together, then you will love knitting in the round. You really need to master the basics first. And you need to be able to pick up stitches because that's how you add on instead of sewing pieces together with a ladder stitch. When you knit in the round, you can add things on similar to crochet construction only better because knitting looks smoother and the stitches are straight so patterns look better. Once you get the hang of it, you won't go back.

I use 5 needles on the body from the leg tops and 4 needles on everything else. I also use a stitch marker to mark the rounds in places and I re-write the pattern from the bottom up, just reversing the increases and decreases. Also, since there is no seam to sew, I take off 2 stitches from each row when I rewrite the pattern. It comes out the same size as the flat pattern. Anything that calls for knit on the purl side, I just reverse and purl on the knit side to make the same pattern. I also use M1A (make one away) to increase in a project this small because it does not add bulk to the knitting especially in places you want to lie flatter, like the bottom of the feet. Unless I'm making clothes, I almost always use M1A but I do use it too on the other side of arm holes for adding stitches back on.

I've taken a flat pattern and converted it to knitting in the round. Without showing you the pattern, I will show you the highlights of how I did it. I love to make little animal dolls but some of my favorite patterns are all done in flat. So I had to convert them to make them more fun for me to want to make. I started with the bottom of the foot. After finishing each foot and stuffing them, I leave them on the needles until I need them. Instead of casting off, I divide my 14 last row stitches on DPNs for each foot into 7 front stitches on one needle and 7 back stitches on another. So each foot has two DPN needles at the top with seven stitches on each. You'll need DPNs with five needles to make it easier. Easy so far, right? The only thing I knitted flat on this bunny was the ears.

Now I want to add the body but the stitches are greater than the 28 stitches total of the legs. So I need 32 stitches for the bottom of the body. I decide to add the four stitches difference by making two stitches each side between the legs. I knit the front seven stitches of the left leg, add two stitches by M1A (x2), knit across seven front stitches of the right leg.  That gives me 16 stitches across the front. 

Then I knit across the back right leg, add two stitches M1A (x2), knit across the left back leg. Now I have 32 stitches total in the round. Then I just place a stitch marker and knit in the round for as many rows as I need to make the body before I start decreasing toward the neck. The pattern will tell me where it was increased when knitted from the top down and that is where I decrease the same number of stitches from the bottom up (and minus 2 stitches on each row still). 

You can pick up stitches for the arm tops on the animal's body and knit down to the hand in the round or just make them separately in the round (minus 2 stitch count) and sew them on with a few stitches. If my head pattern starts in the back of the head instead of at the neck, I just knit the head in the round taking off 1 stitch from each end in the instructions and just attach it to the body when finished. Or you can just do it flat and seam it if you want. It's up to you.

I pick up 5 stitches at the increase point on the side of the body. Then I work (M1A, k1) 5 times to put 10 stitches on the needle. Then I separate the stitches onto 2 needles every other stitch (5 stitches on each needle) to make 10 stitches evenly spaced when I knit them in the round adding stitches if the pattern calls for it. You could do this with 8 stitches divided into 4 on each needle also if you prefer.

Then I just knit them all and divide on three needles around. 3-3-4. And keep knitting the number of rows in the round. It is easier to knit the arms on in the round before you attach the head. You can still do it but the head gets in the way a little. It's just easier before adding the head.

I stuff the arm lightly leaving room at the top so the arm will fold down the body and finish the hand off. Using these guidelines you can convert just about any pattern from flat to knitting in the round. If you love knitting in the round, you won't want to go back to knitting flat and seaming all the pieces together again!

As far as I'm concerned, there are no disadvantages to knitting in the round. You don't need to block the animal bodies and textured sweaters anyway and that is where you will save a lot of time. You can shape the head in the round just as easily IMO. Just stuff it full and shape it before you close the nose end. If you need to manipulate it further you can insert a crochet hook and pull the stuffing into place on the inside.

Testing the fit of the parka on my bunny knitted in the round before he got his nose and ears. It fits! But doesn't he look cute with a face and ears!

You will love knitting in the round. It will save you all kinds of time better spent knitting rather than having to sew it all together later! I would rather be knitting than sewing. 

All of the LCR patterns use a similar boy feet and body pattern and similar girl feet and body patterns so once you convert these two body patterns to knitting in the round, you can make all the LCR patterns from them. You don't have to convert them all!

What I like to do is buy either the boy or girl pattern of one animal (depending on if I like the dresses or sweaters better) and just use my other boy/girl feet and body patterns to make both. Really only the heads and sometimes hands will be changeable for different animals. I also sometimes use Mary Jane's Tearoom small bear pattern in the round for the feet and legs because I like the way the shoes look when it's all knitted together. But after converting a boy pattern to knitting in the round, I can make girl shoes and removeable unders to make a girl any time I want with just this one pattern. ENJOY!